Candlelight vigil held in Rotterdam to honor nine-year-old who died following car crash

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (WTEN) -- Candles were held in the air, people hugged each other and condolences were given. All of this to honor nine-year-old Davin Yap who died Sunday after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a car crash on June 30. Roughly 100 people gathered right behind Jefferson Elementary School, where Davin had just completed fourth grade, to memorialize him with tables that had pictures of him, and a bin where people wrote cards to his family. Davin was the youngest of four children, and was well loved by his community and the people at Schalmont School District. "I hope they know how much they're loved," said Cara Ackerley, co-secretary for the Jefferson Elementary parent-teacher organization. "I hope they know that their son's impact is wide and far and that we will carry the light of kindness with all of us moving forward." Davin loved to play video games, specifically on his Oculus virtual reality system. He also loved sharks, his aunt said, something on display on the fundraiser site as an airbrush shark tattoo on his right arm. Kelli Trippany, Davin's aunt, organized a fundraiser for Davin's immediate family. As of Friday evening, it was nearly at its $45,000 goal. "My sister will never be the same," Trippany said. "Her husband will never be the same. They're kids, you know, he can't take anything back. But to have support behind you, it means everything." Besides a brother and son, something else his family would describe him as: A hero. His organs are being donated to save four children and one adult. "To know that her son's heart is beating in another child is just, I don't even know that there's words to really describe that," Trippany said. "In the wake of her loss, another family was receiving word that their child would live, and I don't know that you can really put that into words."